Land of the Free
by Vendelyn Silverhawk
Summary: Ziva is stuck undercover in a harem, working with her brother Ari to smuggle information to her father and Mossad. Tony is NCIS undercover as an American Businessman coming to negotiate oil prices with the Sheik while investigating the possible sinking of a U.S warship in Middle Eastern waters. The past haunts them both while the present pushed them ever closer together.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- so, this is really crappy, but... i need a distraction from life and a friend commissioned this from me, so i suppose i might as well upload. if it doesn't get reviews then i will take it down, since it shows that no one is bothering to read it. I don't hold chapters hostage for reviews, but if no one reviews the chapter one then there isn't much point in continuing, is there? **

**Anyways, this is from a friend's plot-bunny about Tony and Ziva in Persia/Arabia, an alternate Ari timeline for how they meet and ect. Forgive my ignorance of the country i am portraying- this is an Alternate Universe and i am not claiming that anything i write is accurate. I'm pretty sure all of it is grossly inaccurate, but i ask you, the reader, to take it at face value and just enjoy. it is a mix of Ziva's modern-day thoughts, and memories. i hope it is obvious which is which, but if not review and tell me and i will change it!**

**Enjoy. This one has a much happier ending than "Promise," i promise. Also, the sequel people have asked for... it will happen. probably around spring break is my goal, i just can't put a lot of effort into a longer fic like that right now and this plot is already half written, so... yea. **

Ziva had never dreamed she would fall in love, let alone with a foreign stranger who couldn't survive a day in Middle East without a guide let alone a day in her life. By all accounts- or rather, just those of Mossad, but they were the only ones that counted- he was a weakling. And yet... She wouldn't give him up for the world. Which he had offered her many times, with a golden chain and a little glass box to keep it in.

She fingered the glass box in question, rolling it around and around in her palms, midnight blue lacquered fingernails sliding across its smooth surface contemplatively. It was carved with gently looping flower designs that bloomed on all four sides and curled around gold filigree. Glinting in the light, the marble-sized ruby inside seemed to grin at her from its perch of silk and feathers, bringing back images of tent flaps wafting in the breeze and the aphrodisiac smell of pink-tinted smoke.

Images danced through her mind with chiming bells and braided hair and giggling laughter that rang in her ears. Swallowed as she was in a sea of memories, in a time and place before her husband and hope, she did not hear her name being called from the hallway.

_"__You are mine!" _A small shudder wracked her body at the haunted words recalled by memory.

"Ziva? Ziva!" The voice next to her ear jolted her back into reality.

She blinked quickly in the light, brown eyes struggling to readjust to the change in light- just a second ago she could have sworn there was nothing but dim torchlight. A stabbing pain in her left hand distracted her. Looking over she saw a drop of blood as bright as the gem drip from the glass of the box. When she opened her hand a series of perfectly straight cuts marred her hand.

"Mrs. Dinozzo?" Her assistant whispered in an abrupt return to formality, the ear-piece in her left ear blinking rapidly, her hands flying across her iPad. It seemed as though Donna was always busy, no matter how many times Ziva told her to take a break. "Your plane has arrived. It's waiting on the roof for you."

A small shiver went up her spine at the knowledge that her husband was in that plane, waiting for her. Too excited to act the part of the dignified wife, Ziva kicked herself off the bed, quickly slipping the glass box under her shirt and ignoring the blood on her hand from squeezing the box too tight. The golden chain rested coolly against her flesh as she zipped out of the room. Donna followed the clicking of her employer's no-nonsense black heels obediently and slammed the door of the hotel room behind her.

Ziva ignored the ugly pink and green halls of the hotel, the murmurs of The Help as they carted past, and the numerous black-suited agents that peeled away from doorways at different intervals and looked out for her because her husband was paranoid whenever he could not. All of that was background noise- it was irrelevant when there were only three floors between her, the love of her life, and the freedom she had spent 3 years fighting for and finally won.

**-BREAK-**

_Three years earlier_

It is a common misconception that the world of the harems of the nobles Persia are built upon deceit, lies, wickedness, and the carnal sins of greed, sloth, lust, and every shade of red in between. In reality there are no secrets- only a cleverly concealed veil that cuts off the truth of things; that the harems, those secret worlds of women bathed in red light and dripping skin, are realities of their own. It only seems secret because it is a different reality than the rest of the world is used to- a reality in which those sins are expected, and to sleep with a woman is to leave in the morning with no strings attached and not even a name sticking in your mind.

For Ziva David, daughter of the director of Mossad, winsome spirit crushed and re-forged in the weapons vaults and sparring rooms bathed in blood and sweat and tears, the difference of realities was completely alien.

To her, the idea of a world where paraded around by pretty collars and crammed in rooms strewn with silken pillows, a hundred to every one man, was horrifying. The lux, lush, smoke-and-mirror filled palaces and tents were not wonderlands where poor women could find comfort if they were pretty enough and caught the right eye. They were the same as the brothels and slave houses that her father's order had always looked down upon. Being sent to live in one as the property of a man, as a gift, not even a wife, was the ultimate disgrace.

Because she was not the only woman in Mossad who was beautiful and skilled enough to carry out the undercover mission that required her to live in this red-light world. Because she was the rightful heir to the title Director once her father died, and despite this was given a prostitute's mission.

When the cattle van arrived to take her, she went without complaint.

**-BREAK-**

_Three years earlier_

Halfway across the world, Anthony Dinozzo Junior had just boarded a private plane wearing nothing but a fine suit, polished black shoes, and a new shave that left him feeling out of place and naked amidst the other, similarly dressed business moguls and private security guards.

As he settled into the plush white leather seat, he glanced around self-consciously. There was no way he could pass for one of these confident, smart, ruthless men. Not long enough to get the Intel he needed, anyway. Gibbs would have slapped him for such thoughts, but he knew that it was right.

"Champagne, sir?" A pretty blond stewardess asked him, bending down low enough with the tray to accent her long legs and ample bosom.

"No, thank you." Came his curt reply. Pouting, the stewardess walked away, but Tony didn't lament the lost opportunity. Once, he would have aid yes in his most suggestive voice, maybe winked at her if she looked the type, but either way she would have hung next to him for the rest of the twelve hour flight if he had wanted her to. It was part of the famous DiNozzo charm.

He laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. He didn't have room in his heart for any more dealings with women or their fickle affections. Not after losing the only genuine loves in his life a year apart- the most recent one less than two months ago, hence this trip. Normally Gibbs wouldn't give a removed case to a team member going through emotional trauma, but in this case his stern boss had cut him a break, knowing that Tony would do better away with some breathing room. Away from the smell of the morgue and seeing Kate's name on a gravestone. The empty church and discarded wedding dress that his flighty fiancée had left him with. His Wendy...

No. No more women. Just a long ride, alcohol, and the undercover blues that would last him until he got to Arabia/Persia and forgot the land of heartbreak he was leaving behind.

_Review!_

**A/N: If this story does not get at least one review so that i know someone is reading, it will be discontinued and taken down from the fanfiction account. It will be updated within the week of the first review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, thank you to Anonymous033, NuthatchXi, charmed princess imzadi, and ForeignMusicLyrics(to whom this chapter is dedicated to), my lovely first reviewers! You four (plus a guest reviewer whom i could not add in :'( ) are the reason this chapter exists! ForeignMusicLyrics was kind enough to inform me (and this is embarrassing) that Persia no longer exists, and is actually Iran. I am going to continue with "Persia" because it sounds cooler, but now everyone is aware of my gross historical inaccuracy. Thank you! This early review is simply because i finished the chapter early, teased a few reviewers with "maybe"s of it being posted on Thursday, and decided that i hate waiting for no reason when the product it done. I hope no one objects.**_  
_**If you haven't figured it out already, italics are memories in progress, while not italics is present day, either Ziva remembering vaguely or something specific happening to her in the present day timeline.**

**Without further adieu, read on!**_  
_

_He had tried to ignore the harem girls all week, realizing from the onset that their reality was very different than most of his classic movies had let on. It was really just legalized slavery, and the thick, colorful tents that housed them were cages, the jewelry draped across dark, tanned skin no better than polished shackles. And yet most of them did not seem to mind. They came and went doing what the Sheik bid them, be it to serve guests or keep company or to pleasure, depending on his mood. _

_"__I would offer you one after your long and doubtless tiring journey, but I am rather attached, you see." He laughed when Tony finally met him under the guise of "Anthony Dinardo DiNozzo," believing that he was shaking hands with a business man here to make a deal for some of the Sheik's oil prospects._

_"__I can see why," was all Tony could say, for fear of angering the Sheik by admitting that he would have turned down the "gift" anyway. _

_"__No doubt- it is hard to resist their charm, once they are offered, though. Ziva, come keep us company!" At once a shadow moved along the inside of the tent, and from the darkness stepped a lithe woman with nut-brown skin and long caramel-colored hair that tumbled down her back, help up only in one place by a glinting ruby-and-gold comb. Tony was astonished that he had not spotted her before; it was doubtful that he ever could have skipped over a woman like this Ziva, who was practically naked in the revealing top and gossamer-and-silk skirt-leggings. _

_Her bare feet made no sound on the carpeted floor of the tent. Reaching an arm out, the Sheik grabbed her by the wrist, nails digging into the flesh of her arm, and dragged her down to sit practically on top of him. She smiled coyly at the Sheik and allowed him to plant a kiss on her neck, but Tony knew women, and from the way this one was casting her gaze down the arch of a delicate nose, and the stern set of her jaw, she was not at all delighted by the Sheik's affections. _

_"__My Ziva was a gift, from an Israeli. 'Daughter of Abraham;' she is my spitfire." The Shiek was obviously enjoying showing her off like a prized dog- Tony assumed it was some perverted way for him to show his wealth and power- but if she'd had her way, he figured that this Ziva probably would have knocked his teeth out before letting him kiss her. _

_"__My beloved?" A soft voice queried from the entry flap of the tent. Craning his neck around to see the new arrival, Tony was shocked to see an American girl who couldn't have been older than 20 looking back at him in curiosity. _

_"_Am-ee_, my yellow-haired wonder. Why have you interrupted my meeting?" A scowl began to work its way onto the man's weather-beaten face, but Amy did not seem at all nervous or scared. _

_"__I was told to tell you that Taysha has returned from the city, and brings news of the world." _

_The Sheik shoved Ziva unceremoniously off of his lap and stood, brushing sand from his bulging robes. Tony glanced at where Ziva had collided with an uncovered part of the floor- sand covered her hair and arms, but her face betrayed nothing. _

_"__I must excuse myself, DiNozzo. Where other men avail themselves of newspapers and technology, I enjoy news from a woman's mouth; a beautiful one's, especially. We will convene again on the morrow to discuss your oil." _

_"__Of course, Sheik." Tony made a small bow, as was the custom, and shifted slightly so as to allow the Sheik access to the tent flap. The fat man waddled after Amy without a backward glance. _

_Something shifted to Tony's right, and at once Ziva stood over him, bare feet only inches away. _

_"__I will take you back to your tent, Mr. DiNozzo." She said, dark eyes regarding him coolly._

_"__Wanna help a man to his feet? I don't know how he sits this way so long- I can't feet my toes." Tony joked, reaching up a hand. It faltered, and dropped, when Ziva failed to respond accordingly. _

_"__You would be wise not to lay even a finger on any of the Sheik's chosen women. It is death here to touch his property." She whispered, and Tony nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. He found his own way up, shook feeling back into his feet, and followed Ziva out, chills racing up and down his spine at the grim warning. _

**-BREAK-**

_She should have also warned him that it wasn't just the Shiek he should worry about- but the woman themselves. They were not cattle, they were rabid jungle cats. He found that out all too soon, and later thanked his lucky stars that he had gotten the sane one. _

_"__You are drunk on rice wine. The girls must have slipped something into your drink- the _putas. _If the Sheik ever knew what they do to his men once he embarks for the city..." She said muttered as she pushed her hands under his armpits and hauled him to his feet. Tony was surprised by her strength- the billowy, see-through outfits she wore were eerily deceptive. They gave the impression of a toothpick where in fact a steel rod held residence. _

_"__W-wine?" Tony slurred. He didn't quite comprehend the word, only that it seemed to be the reason he couldn't remember leaving the tent and stumbling across the camp towards his own. Tripping him with every step, his stupid feet couldn't seem to walk right and Ziva did not find it amusing every time he tripped and almost brought her crashing down with him. _

_"__Please try to walk straight- if I show up to the Sheik covered in dirt he will wonder what I was doing, especially if I am seen helping you." She snapped when they reached his tent in what seemed like no time at all._

_"__Why wouldn't he want his women rolling in the dirt? Down 'n dirty, right?" Tony managed a grin, and vaguely realized that if he had just quoted a movie, there were several words very wrong and he couldn't remember the title. Ziva scowled and pulled over the tent flap. _

_The light from the lamp threw strange shadows on the floor, warping Ziva and Tony's forms into one moving thing on the dirt, a twisted shape that could have been interpreted multiple ways with only one thing undisputed- there was only one being in it. Tony's head was pounding like a sledgehammer; Ziva's muttering didn't help. To avoid falling over Tony flopped down on his cot- or did Ziva throw him down?- and promptly let his head fall back onto the pillow. Darkness was rapidly beginning to overtake him to the point where he wasn't quite sure where he was or where the door was or whether Ziva was still there or if it was just his shadow. _

_At that moment Ziva was bending down to help him out of his jacket- he wasn't an enemy and at this point she didn't know if having him around would be an asset or a burden, so best to spare him a rumpled appearance to prompt the Sheik's anger- she bent down, and something glinting beneath his pack by the cot caught her eye. Not understanding what it was she saw, at first Ziva paused, but then the blood began to roar in her ears and she experienced that curious feeling one gets when plans have not gone as expected. She wasn't used to that feeling. _

_Ziva dropped his jacket and reached for the shiny object, holding it up to the light without regard for Mr. DiNozzo seeing her. When she saw what it was a thousand thoughts began to cry out and pop up and battle for dominance in her mind; such was the tumult of emotions that simple little badge inspired in her. _

_Mr. DiNozzo was NCIS. But what was an American naval agent doing in Persia? And what did this mean for her mission? Ziva found suddenly that she did not want Mr. DiNozzo to be labeled as a complication. There was no need for Ari to kill this funny American man. _

_Almost everything that whizzed through her mind at that point was analyzing how his presence and mission would affect her own agenda, the goal her father laid down for her, but in the corner of her mind a single, tiny voice shouted out in dissent. Forced to grow small and ignored for the purpose of self-preservation, this part in the back of her mind wanted to think about her own agenda- not her father's. How did this man affect her in the grand scheme of things? This man presented something she hadn't had in a long time- an opportunity. But could she risk it, with Ari watching her every move and her father ready to have her stay on for another six years in the harem? _

_Ziva's face was a mask as she dropped the badge back in its hiding place and straightened up to tower over Tony. She grabbed his collar to force his head up; she couldn't have him falling asleep before he answered her questions. Now was the perfect time. Odds were he wouldn't remember any of it in the morning. _

_"__Anthony DiNozzo, are you an agent of the American Naval Criminal Investigative Service?" She asked, shaking him just a little. It wasn't out of malice- his eyes were drifting shut. _

_"__No-o." He sighed. _

_"__I have seen your badge, I know that you are! Why are you here? Not to conduct business with the Sheik." She pressed on. _

_"__Sheik." Mr. DiNozzo frowned. "He's trouble. Gibbs doesn't like trouble."_

_"__Who is Gibbs, and how is the Sheik trouble? Is he a threat to your mission?" _

_"__Boss. No- he's… target." _

_"__Target because of what?! Does it have to do with the American ship destroyed in Persian waters?" Ziva was really shaking him now, entire body trembling. The Sheik was in the middle of an American investigation. If Tony succeeded in his mission, that could put the Sheik out of play and destroy her father's plans- and reveal her true mission before she could escape with Ari. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm. Sweat beaded on the back of her neck, despite the freezing night air. _

_"__Blew up warship… U.S.S. Kel-vin. War-crimes… charge."_

_"__So why haven't you arrested him yet?"_

_"__No… proof." Mr. DiNozzo let out a small snore. Ziva dropped him back onto the bed, which he hit like a stone. _

_She ran her hands through her hair in a habitual gesture of comfort, but ended up getting tangled around her ruby comb. One of the Sheik's stupid gifts. Snarling softly, she yanked her hand free and ripped it out of her hair. Then leaning over, she prompted Mr. DiNozzo to stay awake long enough to answer one last question. _

_"__Are you the only one?" She whispered above him, bending down to hear his mumbled answer. _

_"__Gibbs… in-in city. Hates FBI underco-ver ops…" Tony's eyes fluttered lightly as he spoke, their deep green depths lacking any comprehension of what he was doing. Expecting him to simply fall asleep on the spot Ziva straightened up, comb clenched in her hand, and turned away. _

_"__Sleep well, Agent DiNoz- oh!" The hand on her wrist was so unexpected that she ended up twisting it back in an instinctual protective maneuver, before realizing that it was just Agent DiNozzo, and he was too asleep for it to have meant any harm. _

_"__You're so… pretty." He whispered, and then his hand dropped, and his eyes closed._

_Ziva drew back into the shadows of the tent, shocked, and felt her heart skip a beat when he smiled in his sleep. _

_He had touched her, and he had called her _pretty_. _

_Tears pricked her eyes and suddenly she couldn't stop the torrent of tears because somehow this American, this stupid, naïve, blundering, funny, out of his league, intelligent, cinephile of a man had wormed his way into her heart and emotions and for the first time in four years she felt something. Every day the Sheik's guards called out to her with words like "beautiful," and "pretty thing," and every fortnight the Sheik whispered in her ear that he had never possessed such a fierce and attractive jungle cat before. But all of those compliments were empty or possessive, the product of stupid men trying to be eloquent in order to entice her into their beds- which she had to do anyways. Hearing Anthony- he couldn't be Mr. or Agent DiNozzo anymore, not after this- call her pretty, such an innocent word coupled with a sweet, sincere smile, had crumbled all of her walls because she knew he was drunk and half asleep when he said it so it couldn't be a lie._

_Memories flashed through her mind as well as possible futures as she cried softly into her sleeves in the hidden space by his cot and broke inside. _

"Lovely girl," her mother crooned as she brushed Ziva's wild chocolate-colored curls. Her father smiled behind.

"You are beautiful, Ziva. None of those pigs deserve you." Ari said gravely, because even though he was becoming a monster and her father couldn't see it, he was still her brother.

"I wish I looked like you." Tali grinned. That was the last time they spoke before the bombing.

_Ziva raised her head and the light coming from the lamp outside caught her face, which glistened with tears. Her lips were parted in a silent wail of agony as the words flitted through her mind. _

So many years,_ she thought painfully._ All wasted. All gone. And now here I am….

_Yes, there she was, curled at the foot of the bed of a man she hardly knew and already cared about more than her father, more than her mission, more than anything that had stuck her in this hell for almost four years. She imagined what it would be like, to belong to a man like him…_

He smiled at her just like he had the first time, only now he was sober and awake. When he kissed her, the gesture of affection was sincere, too, and Ziva felt more than loved.

_The next morning she snuck off before the morning guard change- she could be killed for being seen in the tent of another man unattended, especially a foreigner- but Anthony, sensing the abrupt lack of a presence in his tent, woke long enough to see her tear-stained face disappear outside, and her fumbling hands drop the ruby comb, and forget to pick it up. _

**-Break-**

_Tony later wondered what he had been thinking when, the morning after he blew his cover and his mission to a woman working for an unknown and potentially hostile agency, he decided to go question her instead of notifying Gibbs of the potentially disastrous turn of events. Part of it was due to the fact that the next morning he found her ruby comb in the dirt by his cot, looking worn and abandoned. He had tucked it in his shirt and kept it because his gut told him that it was something infinitely precious, that he couldn't let slip through his fingers. _

_He had risked one phone call to Gibbs- his boss was livid, or so he imagined- but hung up once his boss began shouting and ordering him to get out of there, that he had to get to the city before everything was ruined. Rule number 51: sometimes you're wrong. Tony's gut told him that Gibbs was wrong. It told him to find Ziva. _

_It also told him, once their surprisingly amiable- and informative- conversation was over, not to give back her comb. _

Review!

**A/N: Next update will be on Sunday, on the dot.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: WOAH! I have never gotten this kind of response to my work before- so many reviews in such a short time is amazing for me, i love all of you fantastic people! Also, a shout-out to those who have followed and/or Favorited this story (me my author page)- i can feel the support oozing through the computer and am delighted to know how many people are keeping up with this venture! I hope you enjoy this middle part- i know i said it would be Sunday, but i suck at waiting when i finish early so now all i can say is reviews will be any time within the week- i am too excited about this to force you guys to wait longer than neccessary! This chapter does skip a bit of time, but with an idea like this my mind either told me to go novel-length detail or keep it short and sweet. I hope my short-and-sweet isn't too confusing, but i couldn't afford to get sucked into a larger project at the moment. **

**Enjoy!**

What the Sheik did to warrant NCIS attention wasn't really important, only that it involved espionage and a sunken U.S Navy Warship, and that Ziva was the primary lead in cracking the case. She established herself as principle lead alongside Tony- once she swore that she was non hostile and gave them information on the Sheik as a sign of good faith- providing input, files, and enough evidence to let the CIA take over an international smuggling case with the Sheik in the middle- along with multiple murder charges and war crimes pinned to his name, too. Apparently Tony's commander, Gibbs, wasn't too happy about turning over his case, but mediating done by the FBI smoothed things over, and NCIS got to stay in on the case until its completion.

It was inevitable that all of her information would be checked, and checked again, and every time she was let into the secret compound in the city she was patted down for weapons and kept under 24/7 surveillance. There would be no files on her that the FBI could access to verify her position and label her as trustworthy. All they had to go on a was a desert ghost. Still, it did not take long for hostility to fade and for an air of grudging acceptance to arise. With Tony on her side it wasn't hard to be everyone's acquaintance, especially his team members', when she got to meet them on video chat.

She liked Abby, though the forensics analyst was slow to trust- Ziva gathered it had something to do with a recently deceased female team-member, but no one would clarify for her. McGee was funny, but, it seemed, generally forgotten when Tony was in the vicinity. She met Gibbs last, but he gave her the most lasting impression.

Despite his position and the fact that she was still technically a Mossad agent, she like this stern Agent Gibbs; he reminded her of the father she never had. Meeting Tony had begun to wake her heart, but meeting Gibbs for the first time was what truly gave her hope. Hope of a life beyond this, without spying and selling and dealing and killing and lying and cheating and using all of the dirtiest tricks to get whatever your crooked boss- in her case, father- wanted. But it was inevitable that none of it could last. Reality came crashing back down because someone told her the name of the murdered NCIS Agent, she and Tony shared a confused, breathless kiss outside the harem tent, and Ari returned with final orders.

**-Break-**

_"__It has been six months, Ziva- The Director is impatient." Ari's voice was like velvet, smooth and dark as it caressed her ears, but it held the concealed blade of a razor she knew would not hesitate to cut. It had been a long time since he had truly been her big brother. Now he was just Eli's watchdog._

_"__I am working on it! The Sheik has been distanced of late. Getting the files is no easy task, Ari." Ziva shot back, keeping her back to him. She did not want to look into his eyes, for fear of what she would see lurking there. _

_Ziva remembered very clearly the moment she was told to get the rest of the files and ship out- when Ari made it very clear what her father's objective was. That alone had chilled her blood, but she downright froze when she realized that all along Ari's mission was completely different. _

**-BREAK-**

"Ziva."_ A voice whispered. Soft lips tickled her ear- curved in a smile- and warmth spread through her. Suddenly it seemed impossible for such shadows like Ari's face and the looming threat of her father to plague her._ "Ziva, open your eyes."_ She trusted the voice, so she did. _

They had been flying for six hours now- almost halfway- and the plane's chef had decided to bring out their dinner. Ziva had laughed at first, when Tony said the word "chef," because FBI planes did not come with chefs, or even kitchens. Apparently Tony's father had finally made some- and by that he meant a lot- honest money and was willing to pay well for his mysterious daughter-in-law to be brought to America comfortably. Ziva was touched that DiNozzo Sr. seemed to care so much. It was very different from what she was used to.

"Your _falafel, _Mrs. DiNozzo." The chef put down the elegantly arranged little plate of fried falafel and lafa. The smell gently fried chik-peas and bread wafted up to her nose, prompting a smile. Bringing her chair up out of reclining position she yawned and looked at Tony, who didn't appear to have slept at all. Next to his crisp appearance Ziva was painfully aware of her bare stocking feet and rumpled dress suit.

"How long was I asleep?" She yawned.

Tony smiled at her as he picked at the Alfredo on his plate. Their tiny plane table was demonstrative of their two native countries- Italy and Israel- and Ziva thought it a fitting comfort, as soon they would both be in America's mixing pot. Tony already belonged there, but for her it would be something completely new.

"About four hours."

"What have you been doing?" Popping a _falafel_ into her mouth, Ziva allowed the chik-peas and spinach to melt on her tongue, an ecstasy of warmth and flavor that slid down her throat tasting of home. It brought a pang to her stomach; her mother used to make this for her.

"Watching you." Tony leaned forward, making stalker gestures, and Ziva laughed, ruby pendant jumping at her throat. "You were dreaming. Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Disturbed by the possibility of what she could have said, Ziva swallowed her second _falafel _thickly and met Tony's eyes. The smile on his face did not reach their deep blue-green depths, where a worried chill was peering out at her.

"And what was I saying?" Carefully smoothing her napkin in her lap, Ziva straightened her back. She steeled herself for what was to come. Who had she dreamed of this time? There were infinitely many possibilities. With Tony gone and a month alone in the safe hotel Ziva had had nothing to keep the nightmares and memories away. Apparently they were tenacious enough to continue plaguing her even with him present.

"You said my name- a lot," Tony joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, but there was no going back. "And Ari's. Mostly, you said, 'He's my brother.'"

**-BREAK-**

_"__Tony, we must talk about what happened last night." Ziva found the NCIS agent the morning after kiss, driven mad by the thought of not seeing him until the next de-briefing at HQ (she already felt more at home among the busy, snoopy Americans than she did these Persians). _

_Tony was absurdly evasive, though. "Nothing happened, Ziva."_

_"__Of course something happened! And we must talk about it!" She cornered him against the back of the well just outside of camp, deserted this early in the morning, when there were still stars in the sky and a chill in the air. "Why will you not admit that?"_

_"__Because rule number 10 exists, and because my last relationships haven't ended up too well- and I knew both of them. That is, they didn't have the potential to be backstabbing assassins!" _

_Ziva recoiled as if struck. It had been more than a year since they first met, and six months they had been working closely together. Opening up her heart to him was the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her entire life, but once it had been done she had embraced the idea that their friendship- and perhaps more- had a future. _

_"__I have had innumerable opportunities to kill you, Agent Gibbs, or anyone else in that base, to steal your files or warn M- my people, about what the Americans are up too, yet I have not. Ask yourself why!" She snapped, but turned away before he gave an answer. How dare he accuse her of being a spy! Of lying to his face, and harboring murderous intent! It didn't occur to her in that moment that technically he was right- something she would think of later, when realizing what a grim instance of foreshadowing it was. "I do not ask you to share everything with me- I would be appalled if proper precautions were not taken- but we have been working on this for months. It has been almost two years since you began your rotation to this camp! Afford me the trust that I deserve, from that, at least. I have trusted you thus far."_

_"__How am I supposed to know? And as for not killing us- you haven't been open with us either, _Ziva_. Everyone is suspicious because you're a dark horse. We have no proof that we should trust you, considering you haven't even named your true affiliation." _

_"__Perhaps because it would be dangerous to do so. Or because it is not necessary." _

_"__When you work with Gibbs, it's always necessary."His voice was dark, a mutter that did not suit him, but Ziva could hear the insecurity behind it. He did not want to be having this conversation any more than she did, but it would forever be between them unless they both got it out now. _

But if he knows who I am, I will be arrested. Or killed_. She thought mournfully. She felt Tony's hand on her shoulder, warm and not as commanding a presence as he probably hoped. _

_"__I am not working with Gibbs- I am working with you. We are partners, Tony." She turned her head, saw the profile of his face against the rising sun, and thought she had never seen something so beautiful. Everything in her life could burn, as long as she never lost that beauty. _

_"__Partners trust each other with information like this, Ziva." Countering, Tony pulled her shoulder so that she faced him. _

_"__No, partners just trust each other." She grabbed his hand from off her shoulder and threaded her fingers through it. To steady the heart that was about to beat itself out of her chest, she took a deep breath and squeezed. "So trust me, when I tell you that it does not matter where I come from, that I have always been on your side, since before you even knew my name, and if my past ever poses a threat I will be the one to deal with it._

_"__Just trust me." She whispered. _

_Tony let out a groan, took her other hand in his, and smiled ruefully. _

_"__Get shipped halfway around the world for a supposedly boring mission, meet a harem girl who turns out to be a spy, spend months locked in a box of tension and desire, and now that the fantasy is about to be completed I start to think about the dying thing… it's worse than cliche James Bond, Ziva."_

_"__I have never seen those movies." She drew her lips closer. _

_"__You don't need too. They all ended pretty much like this." And they kissed, and spark flew, and it was even more exhilarating than the first time. Then and there Ziva promised herself that she would do whatever it took to stay with this man, this wonderful, wonderfully human man, so that she could experience a thousand more. _

Review!

**A/N: I am not, for my own sake, going to give another update date except to say that it will be up before next Sunday. The way my style goes it that either i finish early and let it sit a few days (or update, depending on my mood/time for the first chapter to sink in) or am working up until the last minute. Either way, expect an update within the week and i hope you enjoyed this one! I was SO fun to write :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this chapter look considerably longer to upload than the others- school has been whooping my butt the last few days, french especially, so it has been hard to concentrate on fanfiction. i hope you enjoy this little tidbit though- i am finish up this story and the next chapter will be the last!  
**

_She had been ordered to finish her mission and assassinate the target, only her target had changed. It was no longer the Sheik; it was Tony. _

_"__Eli suspects your involvement. The NCIS Agent is a complication that he will not risk."_

_"__If an American agent dies here then the C.I.A will never let the Shiek's property out of their sight, much less to Mossad!" Ziva hissed, boiling with anger and also ice- she had allowed herself to get close to a man in the most perilous of situations and this was what it would end like! She had been a fool to hope for anything more, to dream at all. _

_"__We have faith in you, Ziva. You are the best of us." Ari said calmly, not looking up from his gun. He was always so composed, to sure to the point of unease. Ziva could not fathom the depth of the madness her father had instilled in him, but for Ari to be a soldier unflinching now when as a boy he had been the best at heart, second only to Tali, was something Ziva couldn't understand. The evolution of Ari would forever be a mystery to her. _

_It wasn't hard to figure out her father's game plan, though; if an NCIS agent died on the Sheik's soil- and no doubt, it would be part of her job to make it appear as though it was is fault- then U.S forces would have the cause they needed to take him into custody, and while that was going on Ziva could sneak out the last files so that her father could bypass the whole process and just absorb the Sheik's assets in one go. By the time the Americans realized what had happened it would already be done and long gone from their prying eyes. _

_But Ziva would not hurt Tony. Meeting him and his team and seeing what life could be like outside of Mossad had shown her that in Mossad she had never truly had a life, not one that was her own. She had not fought because for so long she had not realized she had been in a cage. Now it was time to break free, though, and she would do it no matter the cost. _

**-BREAK-**

_Ari struck sooner than Ziva had anticipated, and with more fervor than she would have believed capable of him. It had been only a week since she got her ultimatum- kill Tony or Ari would expose her to her father as a pseudo double-agent- but Ari wasted no time. _

_"__You are Mossad! Why am I trusting you?!" Tony hissed as Ziva led him behind the tents in the dim light of the setting sun. Normally they would have been blinded by the fire it spread across the sand, but the tent was between them and it so they had only the shadows of dusk to trace their urgent footsteps across the ground. When Tony tried to jerk his hand away from hers Ziva tightened her grip. _

_"__Because If you do not, Ari will kill someone, and knowing what they do who in that compound is going to believe me?" Ziva snapped, not looking back. It had been close to three hours since one of her informers had said Ari was spotted in the area, and less than an hour since Ziva's cover had been blown. Arriving at her tent with a gun, his badge, and the most open expression of betrayal had been Tony's way of tipping her off that she was under arrest from the FBI and he had to take her in for questioning. _

_Needless to say she had quickly disarmed him and told him that she was not the threat, that she was going to tell him herself that very day, and that if she was truly loyal to Mossad she would have carried out her mission and he would be dead. _

_He hadn't said much after that until she told him that Ari was most likely there to kill another agent and fulfill her mission. _

_"__They won't with good reason, even if it turns out that that bastard is here, too." Tony whispered. Instantly both hunched down in the shadows beside a tent when they heard voices; a guard patrol passed, armed with guns and nasty looks on their faces. They had probably been alerted, too- The Sheik was no friend of Isreal's, so if he knew there was a Mossad operative here he would take every opportunity to destroy them._

_"__Do not call him that!" Ziva dug her nails into his wrist, causing him to jerk away in pain. _

_There was an ugly look in his eyes. _

_"__Why? Because he's one of your Mossad buddies? That guy killed my partner, Ziva. I-"_

_"__I understand about Agent Todd, Tony," Ziva said, kissing the clawmarks. When Tony didn't pull away, she took that as a good sign. Maybe he really did believe her, if only because of the affection they held for each other. "I read Ari's report, and I can tell you that the America situation was never supposed to escalate that fast. Your partner must have been a good woman, and very important too you, but she is gone and you need to think about the here and now. Much as Katelyn was your partner, Ari is- was- mine. He has done terrible things, but no more terrible than I have."_

_"__You didn't kill Kate, Ziva." He doesn't understand. Somehow she knew he wouldn't. This was one thing Tony would never understand._

_"__No, but I have killed, and for less reason than you have. Just as you would not hold me guilty without more evidence, because I am your partner, afford me the same perspective for Ari. _Please_." It was stupid to hope that Ari wouldn't do anything, she knew, but it was a better excuse than telling Tony why she really flinched whenever he said that. _

_"__Alright. But let's go- to make sure. Gibbs has to know." Tony pulled her to her feet and they continued their trek around the outskirts of the camp, towards the lot where the vehicles were kept. If she could use Tony's car radio- he had conveniently lost his NCIS secure phone before Ziva got to him- to get to HQ and warn them to be on the alert for Ari Hossad, they might have a chance of catching him. (Or letting him get away, as Ziva was more inclined to do). _

_"__Yes. He does not know Ari's true identity, right?" Ziva checked as they went along. It was only after she saw Tony's reaction to hearing Ari's name that she connected he and his team with the American incident three years ago, so she knew they wouldn't know much about Ari except the fake identity he created for himself. _

_"__Yeah- all we got was where he went to medical school,his connection to Hamass and Al Quada, and his mother's maiden name before he dropped off the map. We didn't suspect Mossad until later, but the case was shut down and we were denied access. " Tony affirmed. _

_"__Then he won't understand why Ari is here or what his ultimate goal is. My target was you, but Ari could be going after any random agent, be it NCIS or FBI. We have to put them on alert."_

_"__There's the car."_

**-BREAK-**

"I want you to know; I wish I hadn't had to shoot Katelyn."_ The voice that crackled over Tony's radio was eerily familiar, despite being twisted and distorted out of shape by the bad connection. Ziva shivered where she sat next to Tony in the passenger's side of the car. _

"Why did you?"

_"__That's Gibbs!" Tony gasped. Ziva, too, recognized the voice of the gruff team leader who had allowed her a place on his team. What was Ari doing with him? Surely Gibbs wasn't in an area so easily accessed by Ari? There wasn't much need for a sniper to greet his prey face-to-face, either…_

"To cause you pain."

"I piss you off that much? You'd come halfway around the world just to shoot me?"

_The conversation played through Tony's car speaker, which meant that wherever Gibbs was he had opened a radio connection- every FBI or NCIS car that was running was having this conversation played inside it. Which meant that Gibbs was in trouble, and alone, and his only chance was this bet that someone would hear him. _

_"__Tony, do you know where he might be?" Ziva asked, fear racing through her. None of Ari's words made any sense, but she had no doubt that he was armed and ready to kill. They had to get to Gibbs. _

_"__Do you know why Ari is obsessed with him?!" Tony countered while putting the car into DRIVE._

_"__I have… not the slightest idea." Ziva said honestly. "Which of your surrounding bases would have a radio transmitter capable of reaching the cars?"_

"None_. They only communicate with each other."_

_"__Then that means he is by a car- one that is on, with open doors and a radio that is picking up the conversation. A secluded parking lot?"_

_"__I know just the place." But that exact moment that they roared out of the parking lot, Ari spoke again. _

"Not you- my father. You have the misfortune of reminding me of the bastard."

"And he didn't marry your mother, huh."

"That's what makes me a bastard, from the moment of my birth he grown me to be one thing- his mole in Hamass. He sent me to Edinburgh to become a doctor, so I could work in the Gaza camps alongside my mother. When he had her killed, I had no trouble joining the Hazido-kassam."

"You don't really believe your father had your mother killed?"

"It was ah, retaliatory Israeli strike. On the day I was in Talhaviv- visiting him. After decades of planning, he had his mole in Hamass. He never knew how much I hated him. I wish I could see his face, when he realizes he created not a mole… but a monster. Eager to strike at the heart of Mossad, and Israel."

"Yeah... I almost feel sorry for you."

"And I for you."

**A/N: So... i know that this story is going by EXTREMELY quickly, but i honestly can't find the inspiration to make it a longer piece- i just don't think it works, so i hope this format isn't too confusing or fast-paced, and in no way hinders the story i am trying to get across. Please give me comments on the plot and characters, how this style compares to a longer novel-ish story, ect.- i need to know these things and really appreciate the feedback!**

**The last chapter will probably be posted around Wednesday, depending on school, but definitely before Friday. **

_Review!_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: i love you all, i do. from the followers to reviewers to favorites- i hope that i conclude this story satisfactorily. **

_Pulling the trigger was the hardest thing Ziva had ever done._

_Falling to the floor, Ari almost looked as if he was falling asleep, but for the hole in the middle of his forehead where Ziva's bullet had hit, her aim straight and true. Blood pooled on the floor of the parking garage in the city, the place where Ari had cornered Gibbs to complete the final stage of his revenge. Until the moment Ziva heard him talking about his plans in person, about how when Eli ordered him to complete his daughter's failed mission Ari knew just the person, she had never truly believed that he was capable of such things. But then he had held his gun to Gibbs' head and Ziva hadn't hesitated to pull her own trigger. _

_"His father was the deputy director of Mossad?" Gibbs asked quietly, walking over to where Ziva stood, staring blankly at Ari's body. Tony stood off to the side, open-mouthed, but Gibbs didn't question the scenario. He had trusted someone to have his back, and Ziva had claimed that position. She had his trust, the edict for her arrest be damned. _

_"Yes." She whispered, and didn't bother to wipe away the few tears that trickled down her cheeks. _

_"So who was he, really?"_

_"He was my brother." And they were all silent, because Ziva had just killed family to save people that, in all honesty, she hardly even knew. It was a sacrifice even Gibbs could only begin to understand, and Tony even less. His Ziva had killed a man- her flesh and blood- and not even blinked. _

_Silence reigned on the car ride back to the FBI headquarters in the nearby, unnamed city, where Ziva was forced into an interrogation room and Tony locked in an office to be debriefed by men in black. Brutally passing time would take its toll on everyone, yet in the near-silence of the little room Ziva maintained her composure and told the truth wherever truth was sought, and sometimes where it was not. There was only one thing she kept to herself, and it wouldn't make a difference to the outcome of the political mess they had gotten themselves into. She hoped it would make a difference when it came to seeing Tony again, though. She desperately hoped. _

**-BREAK-**

"I am sorry, Tony. I do not mean to dwell on the past, especially now. It is hard-"

"Ziva," his hand reached across the table to grasp hers, a warm, reassuring hold that immediately anchored her to the here and now. It was interesting, because on any given day a year ago Ziva would have broken a man's wrist for touching her like that, and she would not have understood or benefited from the intended sentiment of the gesture. She still did not fully understand, but she was learning, and with him she did not feel so foreign anymore. He alone understood what she she was feeling. That she was a fish out of water, because she did not know how to be a Ziva without a war to fight, or a mission to complete. Violence and hardship and survival defined her. In this luxury, she would have to learn a new way, not just to survive, but to _live, _with Tony at her side.

**-BREAK-**

Status as an FBI asset and victim of the Human Trafficking portion of the Bill of Human Rights got her out of Mossad custody and into the hands of the C.I.A- if there was anyone NCIS hated more than the FBI, it was the CIA, so of course the CIA had to make an appearance some time. It was a giant three-way inter-departmental mess that landed Ziva in Baghdad for three months with nothing to do- except yearn for the honeymoon her impromptu wedding to Tony hadn't allowed. It had cleared the issue of her citizenship, but Tony had to go back to the U.S with his team while all of Ziva's paperwork was completed and the CIA went through the endless process of assuring that she wasn't a threat to national security, that she had agreed to be a liaison with Mossad in the future, that her account of the Ari encounter hadn't been falsified, etc.

It was worth it in the end to finally be able to see him again, though, once he had secured their assets in the U.S and was ready to take her home.

_"But we can't get safe travel until some big important guy in some big chair approves lots and lots of paperwork… and Mossad surrenders your agent files." He whispered against her ear, body pressed against hers in the tiny room. It was stifling in the fine hotel, her home of the past few weeks, but neither of them cared. It had been three months and they had never gotten their honeymoon; every time Tony got leave to visit her they spent all of their time together. _

_Sidling up next to him, body pressed between him and the silk covers, Ziva sighed. _

_"But when will it be done? It has taken so long, Tony; I want to see America, and see the team again. I have not even met McGee and Abby in person before." She lamented. To sooth her Tony kissed her once, long and sweet, and tugged gently at her hair. _

_"This is fast for America. Would it help if I gave you something, to remind you why you're waiting?" _

_"How could I forget?" The moments they snatched away beneath the covers were all the reminder she needed, though they were far and few between. She savored the thought of having a bed of their own in his new home- he had sent pictures a few months ago of the lovely little house just outside of DC, courtesy of his father. _

_"Let me give it to you anyways." Tony smiled his secret, mischievous smile that he kept only for her and plucked something off of the bedside table behind him. _

_Glinting in the soft light, the box was glass with gold edging and soft pictures carved into the glass so lightly that she could almost not see them. Inside nestled in a soft bed of white feathers was a glinting red ruby, so small that she could barely see it but precious nonetheless. _

_"From my comb." She whispered in awe as she reached out a hand to take the box. Touched beyond words, she held the box close to her heart and smiled as she had not since he left for the first time. _

_Inside the case the ruby glinted brightly, the relic of the setting sun upon the fiery sands of the desert, and promising nights filled with red lust. _

_"Yeah. I'm ashamed, Ziva David, that it was misplaced when I went through customs the first time. FBI bastards. But I found this in the bottom of my bag and figured I should protect it. The thought of losing it after going through so much was… beyond comprehension. It was like a scene out of Twilight, actually- I think I cried-" Ziva put a finger to his lips and her smile grew wider._

_"I love it, Tony." And she did, because even though it was a relic of her old life, Tony had made it something beautiful; a promise for the future. _

_The next day he got her a golden chain for the box so that it could hang around her neck, and told her that it was a hand-made case that his father had made for his mother's wedding ring. The same ring that now resided on Ziva's hand. _

**-BREAK-**

"Look at that, Ziva," Tony wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her across the aisle into his lap, pulling her against him so that she could look out of the little window at the sprawling green land dotted by cityscapes below them.

"There it is." She responded. Her head lay against his cheek, warmth of their bodies pressing together, and Ziva felt her soul lift up when the plane angled downward.

"America; home of the brave." Her husband's pride made her smile, but they were a line too late in the American anthem she had listened to on repeat over and over again.

"And a land where I shall finally be free."

**A/N: So this is it, my lovelies... the end. I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as i did- a big shout-out to all of my lovely reviewers- this story would not exist at all without you and your support has me grinning every time i see the numbers. Look out for my next story, which not be the sequel to Promise, for those of you who know what i'm talking about. i'm sorry- that story will happen, but right now it is in the vault of "unwritables" for reasons i cannot mention. Anyways, the next story will be a PotterLock featuring everyone's favorite Ravenclaw and lots of moody Sherlock. keep your eyes peeled! **

_Review!_


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